It is part of the irony of the situation that
Turkey has actually made, from the military point of view, a gain of territory. The Austrians have hurriedly evacuated the Sandjak of Novi Bazar, which hitherto has been in the occupation of their troops, though the civil administration in that district has remained in the hands of the Turks. Turkey will now resume complete sovereign rights over this not inconsiderable piece of territory. Austria-Hungary has made a great deal of her self-sacrifice and of the good feeling shown towards Turkey by this act of renunciation. We trust, how- ever, that we shall not be thought cynical if we point out that it only requires a glance at the map to see that such evacuation was urgently demanded in the military interests of Austria. The Sandjak, which is about the size of Montenegro, lies, like the meat in a sandwich, between the bread of Servia and of Montenegro. The position, therefore, of Austrian garrisons in it could be made intolerable by the joint action of the two States in question, coupled with an insurrectionary movement in the province itself. In other words, Austria-Hungary evacuated, not because she would, but because her military advisers told her she must.
